Elijah is here!

Everyone knows that I was scheduled for induction yesterday. Luckily everything went very well.

After arriving late we were brought into the room and filled out all of our paperwork. We then waited for shift change before I was started on pitocin. I was very lucky to have a wonderful nurse, Donna. She was very friendly and supportive. She informed me of everything that was going on and made sure I was ok every step of the way. I'm very thankful for her.

I was started on an IV around 8.00 (I think) and waited patiently for contractions to begin. It didn't take long. Compared to Ethan's delivery my pitocin was increased very often. As soon as I had contractions at one intensity for a little while, the dosage was increased and we would get stronger, faster contractions. I did very well for a good while, but they really started to hurt about the time I was dilated to a 5. I knew that I would not be able to make it all the way without drugs so I requested my friend, Mr. Epidural.

Once I received the epidural I was good to go. After about 30 minutes I wasn't feeling anything from the waist down and I was able to nap for a while. Donna checked my progress every so often and made sure I was comfortable. Comfortable being that I had my share of ice chips since I was starving! A little before 5 Donna checked me and said that it was time: I was fully dilated and everything was good to go. And this next thing helped me tremendously: she called the doctor and told her I was only a nine and that she needed to be coming over. I know that sounds off kilter, but it gave me a chance to feel some pressure during contractions so I would know when to push. When I had felt several contractions and knew that Elijah was close I called Donna and told her that they needed to get in the room...I was ready. We waited on the doctor to arrive, they suited up and broke down the bed and it was time. I was reminded how to push and we were going. The first push didn't seem to help my situation at all, but I made the next four count. After the fifth push Elijah was working his way out and I just had to give a couple of gentle nudges to get him out.

He was born at 5.22pm and weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces. He is 22.5 inches long with a head full of light colored hair. He is just perfect and Ronnie, Ethan and I couldn't be happier to have him join our little family. Thanks for all the prayers and support.

Oh Baby!

Congratulations to whoever the one person was that said baby would be born between the 15th and 31st of January. You were right! At my doctor appointment yesterday my blood pressure was high yet again and the doctor explained that by waiting we were just waiting for me to develop preclampsia and that there was no point in jeopardizing my health or the baby's. My main concern was for the baby and once she explained that he is doing well and that my body should handle an induction favorably, I was on board. So, it appears that Baby Kidd will probably enter the world tomorrow or Thursday. We'll see since Ethan decided to wait until Wednesday when my induction was on Tuesday. I will post info and pix as soon as I possibly can. Say a little prayer for all of us as we prepare to become a family of four.

Grad School?

Moore County does this cool thing where they team up with the local community college and UNCP to offer a Masters in K-12 Reading at SCC for their teachers. I had heard about it, but never got interested. This past year I researched going to UNCG for a Masters in Spanish or ESL, but knew that I wouldn't be able to afford the $1500 per class or handle the hour long drive each way. So when my colleague mentioned the reading cohort the other day I started asking questions. Classes are less than 30 minutes from here (less than 45 from home) and are only around $500 each! Everything is pre-planned and I can be finished sooner than if I went to UNCG. So it seems that I may be starting grad school this summer. I have started my UNCP application (again...8 years later) and researched everything that needs to be done before I can be accepted and enrolled. I may be crazy, but I think I'm going to do it.

38 Week Visit

Sorry! I'm a little late with this post since it's already Friday and I went to the doctor on Monday. Honestly, I didn't feel like posting because I was a little disappointed. My goal with this pregnancy was to keep my BP down so I wouldn't have to be induced. However, I was diagnosed with GD, which threw a kink in things. I really tried to control my sugar levels, but have been put on medication to keep them in check. Then the insurance company started refusing to pay for test strips, leading to more stress. So here I am and my blood pressure has started going up again. Bummer! When I went to my weekly appointmen I was really hoping that the doctor would tell me that I was dilating, blah, blah, blah and that baby could come any day. Apparently not! When the doctor checked me he was shocked that he couldn't feel the baby and actually had to poke around on my giant belly to figure out where the child was. Baby was definitely not as low as he should have been. And to top it off dr. told me that I really wasn't dilated more than a fingertip. Great. He told me to go home and "have some contractions." Thanks for the advice buddy. Then came the moment that I had been dreading. "When do you want to schedule your induction?" WHAT?!!? Ummm....I don't. Like that would have gone over well. He wanted to do it on Monday, but I told him I had to go to work on Tuesday (am I really that dedicated?). In the end I was scheduled for Thursday, the 21st. So my goal now is to go into labor before that day gets here. We'll see how I do. I'll let you know how my next weekly appointment goes on Monday.

37 week visit

I just got home from today's OB appointment. Not too much going on, but thought I would share. The NST was an adventure once again. Little Lizard moved around like crazy in the waiting room, but once I was hooked up he decided it was nap time. Luckily Ronnie was with me and his voice seems to get the baby moving. The doctor said that the baby seems to be doing really well. We discussed the diabetes thing and she seemed pleased with my numbers. However, I do have to try to figure out how to convince the insurance that I really do need to get 100 test strips per month. Lastly, she checked my cervix. I was really hoping for some dialation since my back has been killing me and she confirmed that I am 1.5 centimeters. So, the process has started. Who knows how soon or how long it will be before he gets here, but at least we're heading in the right direction!

December 29 Doctor Visit

I had yet another appointment today. These weekly appointments have been going on forever, or so it seems. But the end is in sight as I only have 3 (hopefully) left. Today was a big appointment. The first item on the agenda was an ultrasound to determine Little Lizard's size. It appears that he may be smaller than Ethan as he weighs in at a tiny 6 pounds, 10 ounces right now. He is only measuring a couple of days ahead of his due date and looks completely healthy. While I was able to see his precious little face we weren't able to get a still shot of it so no one will be able to see it until he arrives. For what I saw, with my non-ultrasound reading ability, I believe he is going to look a lot like his big brother. The technician also told me that he will probably have a lot of hair.

Next, I saw the OB. He was pleased with my blood pressure, which has been suprisingly low the past few weeks. My sugar levels were ok since they put me on medication last week. Some of the numbers have been a little high, but I confessed that I've had a few cookies, among other things, the past few days. I love this doctor because his response was simply, "well, it's that time of year." He also decided to check to see if I am dilated because we are less than 4 weeks away. I was excited, thinking maybe some of these pains were getting me ready, but I was wrong. He wouldn't even say I was dilated to a 1. I know that isn't a sign that the baby will stay put for a while, but it was a little disappointing.

Finally, I had another NST. Since he had already been poked and prodded, Little Lizard decided it was time for a nap and refused to move, which is crucial for the test. The nurse brought in a little wand and told me she was going to wake him up. She woke me and the baby up as the noise the wand produced was quite shocking. Needless to say, with his nap disturbed baby started to move and we were able to finish the test with good results.

To sum it all up we are both doing well and just waiting for little man to decide when to make his entrance. Keep praying!

Dec. 14 Doctor Visit

I went to the doctor again yesterday. I feel like I'm there all the time! I arrived at 4:07 and told the receptionist that I was to have a non-stress test (NST) so that the nurse would go ahead and hook me up. I know the nurse got the message because I heard the receptionist telling her on the intercom system, but I was not called to a room until 4:50!! I was a little upset, but I have to keep my cool so my blood pressure doesn't elevate (it was good yesterday!). After chasing the baby in order to find his heart beat (apparently he still has a lot of room in there), I was left to the whooshing of a wonderful sounding heartbeat for 30 minutes. It is very relieving to hear that sound, so strong and so perfect! When the doctor arrived he looked over the test results and told me that everything looked really good. Yay! But I still have to have one every week until the end. Ugh. He was pleased with everything, but my sugar levels gave him a little to be concerned over. We discussed the fact that I can eat the same thing for two days and on day one my sugar will be fine, but the next it will jump tremendously. He basically told me that I would probably be put on medications next week to control everything. I, however, brushed that off because I have done everything I possibly could to stay off any meds while pregnant. Until today. My sugar was high for half of the readings this weekend. Ok. I indulged a little. But yesterday and today I ate normal, healthy meals. What do I get? High, high readings. Higher than they've been the whole time. Looks like I may be on medication by Christmas anyway. I just keep praying that Little Man is ok, that his lungs are maturing (just in case) and that he doesn't get HUGE! The doctor doesn't want him to weigh over 8 pounds. I find that funny since Ethan weighed 9 1/2 without diabetes complications. I also hope that when he is born his sugar levels are stable and that the diabetes doesn't cause him to have a terrible case of jaundice. So many worries for a little person that I've never seen. I know I'm rambling, but this is how my brain has worked for the past few months. I'm going to stop for now. I'll be back with more updates soon. MK